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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/26202703">Gladers In Gotham</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Random_Nerd3/pseuds/Random_Nerd3'>Random_Nerd3</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Batman - All Media Types, The Maze Runner Series - All Media Types</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Angst with a Happy Ending, BAMF Newt (Maze Runner), Canon? Who's She? I Don't Know Her., Everyone Is Alive, Everyone Needs A Hug, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Minor Original Character(s), Newt is a Dork, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Protective!Newt(Maze Runner), Protectiveness, Ra's still stole his spleen, Tags will be added, Temporary Amnesia, The Gladers are a family okay?, Thomas Deserves Sleep, Tim Drake Needs a Hug, Tim Drake-centric, Timothy Drake is Thomas, but the batfam won't give up on Tim so easily</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-08-30</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-08-31</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-06 07:35:15</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>2</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>4,135</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/26202703</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Random_Nerd3/pseuds/Random_Nerd3</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Dick must’ve caught a stroke of good luck, because the man turned his head out the window. He frowned and walked closer to  the glass, then stared at the exact roof Dick was perched on. Dick snapped a picture of the man’s face then realized he recognized him. Tim frowned, then pulled down the blinds so Dick wasn’t able to see him anymore. Falling off the roof in surprise Dick landed in a city trash bin and groaned in pain when his back hit the lid.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Cassandra Cain &amp; Tim Drake &amp; Dick Grayson &amp; Duke Thomas &amp; Jason Todd &amp; Bruce Wayne &amp; Damian Wayne, Chuck &amp; Thomas (Maze Runner), Everyone &amp; Everyone, Gally &amp; Thomas (Maze Runner), Minho &amp; Newt &amp; Thomas (Maze Runner), Newt/Thomas (Maze Runner), Tim Drake &amp; Bruce Wayne, Tim Drake &amp; Dick Grayson, Tim Drake &amp; Dick Grayson &amp; Jason Todd &amp; Bruce Wayne &amp; Damian Wayne</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>34</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Chapter 1</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Mama mia, here I go again. My my, another work in pro-o-gess.</p><p>I hope at least one person ends up reading this, lmfao. I honestly don't even know what I'm doing, but hopefully this ends up going well. I'm always open to feedback and reviews, so don't be afraid to leave a comment!</p><p>Enjoy!</p><p>~R</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>With a grin Dick cut through Gotham’s night air as he flew across the rooftops. The downtown area seemed to be quiet aside from petty crime, so he and Damian were running closer to Crime Alley for the night. “Nightwing,” Damian said rolling at his side, “something about that building is wrong.” Dick’s Robin pointed across the street at what used to be an abandoned apartment building. Apparently the US government uncovered a conspiracy group who were trying to find a cure to a disease </span>
  <em>
    <span>they</span>
  </em>
  <span> made, and the survivors of said experimentation were currently residing in Gotham. When Bruce tried to hack into the NSA’s files about the WICKED project, but he was met with a frustratingly large amount of firewalls protecting the files. Tim would’ve been able to hack through them but Tim… </span>
  <em>
    <span>god,</span>
  </em>
  <span> Dick thought, scolding himself,</span>
  <em>
    <span> what ever made me think doing that to him was okay?</span>
  </em>
  <span> Damian tsked next to him,</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I can’t see in the building.” Dick frowned,</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Not even through the windows?” He crouched low and took the binoculars from Damian, who shrugged in response. When the apartment building was bought, Bruce tracked the purchase through shell companies tracking back to the FBI. Damian tsked,</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“If the government is protecting the people staying in the apartment building, shouldn’t we just leave them to their own devices?” Dick shook his head as he zoomed into the building’s upper levels.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“B said he wants to make sure the people staying here aren’t a threat.” The building itself housed twenty apartments, ten on the first floor and ten on the second, the rest of the building stretched away from the street, so Dick could only see four windows and the front door. According to the blueprints they pulled from public archives at City Hall there was also a basement. Looking through the lens Dick could make out the images of a group of people piled on the couch. He wasn’t really able to make out exact faces, but he focused on the two men in the center of the group. Something about them seemed like they were the leaders of the group. The lights in the room dimmed and the television screen blinked on, color filling the room. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>After a few hours, Dick ordered Damian to return to the cave and turn in for the night. Settling onto the edge of the roof, Dick kept his eye on the man with black hair, as opposed to the one with blond hair. “Come on,” Dick muttered, “come </span>
  <em>
    <span>on</span>
  </em>
  <span>,” he whispered. The man with black hair turned away from the window and whispered something in the blond’s hair. The blond grinned and leaned in to kiss the black haired man. Black haired dude stood up with a stretch and stepped over one of his friends who fell asleep on the floor. Dick must’ve caught a stroke of good luck, because the man turned his head out the window. He frowned and walked closer to  the glass, then stared at the exact roof Dick was perched on. Dick snapped a picture of the man’s face then realized he recognised him. Tim frowned, then pulled down the blinds so Dick wasn’t able to see him anymore. Falling off the roof in surprise Dick landed in a city trash bin and groaned in pain when his back hit the lid. He tried to stand up and was met with a shock of pain shooting up his left leg. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Twisted ankle then,</span>
  </em>
  <span> Dick mused as he leaned against the trash can for support. He reached up and tapped his comm link, “Nightwing to batcave, Nightwing to batcave. Code RR.” Dick started limping towards where he parked his bike when the familiar pressure of a gun was pressed against the back of his head. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Nightwing, this is Oracle, are you sure it’s Code RR?” </span>
  </em>
  <span>Barbara asked through the link. A second guy kicked Dick’s knees from behind, making him fall onto the concrete with a grunt. He moved to grab his escrima sticks, but a third person grabbed his arms and pinned them behind his back.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Do you usually just play peeping Tom or are we special?” The blonde asked, walking into Dick’s view. When he spoke he definitely had a British accent of some kind. Dick responded with his signature grin and said,</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Nah, you aren’t my type. Flash is more of a Red head in case you’re wondering.” He quipped, which earned him a kick to the face. He coughed then explained, “Batman just wanted to make sure you and your… friends… were good people.” British Boy smirked, then addressed the man holding the gun to Dick’s head.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Right, and we </span>
  <em>
    <span>weren’t</span>
  </em>
  <span> subjected to four years of absolute hell thanks to a deranged scientist and supervillain with a grudge against me,” the man behind Dick said with a scoff. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Tim,</span>
  </em>
  <span> Dick’s mind supplied him, </span>
  <em>
    <span>that’s Tim’s voice.</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Nightwing, what’s your status? Was that Tim’s voice?” </span>
  </em>
  <span>Oracle demanded. She must have heard everything. A frown crossed Dick’s face,</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You’re the test subjects from that conspiracy project. The organisation was called WICKED, right?” That earned him a hard whack to the back of the head as Tim sent him sprawling to the ground.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Tommy, </span>
  <em>
    <span>Tommy stop</span>
  </em>
  <span>!” British Boy insisted, trying to pull Tim off of him. Dick tried to ignore the fact that Tim was addressed by a different name. A third person pulled Tim off of Dick,</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Greenie, slim it ya shank!” The taller man said, shoving Tim against the alley wall. </span>
  <span></span>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p><p>
  <span>“I </span>
  <em>
    <span>knew </span>
  </em>
  <span>it Gally!” Tim yelled back, “I shucking called it didn’t I? I </span>
  <em>
    <span>said</span>
  </em>
  <span> this was another phase didn’t I? In what shucking world would </span>
  <em>
    <span>Batman,</span>
  </em>
  <span> AKA mister brood-in-the-dark-alone have </span>
  <em>
    <span>allies</span>
  </em>
  <span>?” The taller man (Gally?) managed to subdue Tim until Tim resorted to death-glaring at Dick. Gally let him go, but kept a watchful eye on him. With Tim occupied British Boy turned his attention to Dick. Kneeling on the ground he asked,</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“What do you know about WICKED?” Dick coughed out some blood then wiped his mouth. Breathing heavily he answered,</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Nothing, except what the news released.” Looking up at Tim he took his chance, “Tim I’m sorry. I’m so sorry for what I did to you, but please, </span>
  <em>
    <span>come home</span>
  </em>
  <span>.” Tim and the other two men exchanged a confused look.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Newt, what is he… what is he talking about?” Tim asked, addressing British Boy (Newt?). Newt glanced back at Dick,</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Tommy I think that’s your </span>
  <em>
    <span>name</span>
  </em>
  <span>. The FBI said you were from here, maybe you knew him… I mean, from before…” Tim blinked as a look of recognition swirled in his eyes,</span>
</p><p> </p><p><span>“</span><em><span>Nightwing?</span></em><span>” Tim asked, disbelief dripping in his voice. Dick let out a sigh of gratefulness, at least he remembered how to keep a secret identity. Suddenly though, Tim’s face twisted into anger and Gally pinned him against the wall. </span><em><span>I guess this means he remembers what happened…</span></em><span> Dick thought with a wince. “You shucking</span> <span>bastard! You </span><em><span>shucking</span></em><span> -” Tim cut himself off with a scream of pain as his eyes rolled to the back of his head.</span></p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Tommy!” Newt exclaimed, leaving Dick on the pavement alone. Gally caught Tim before he fell to the ground.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Woah Greenie!” Gally said as he took the brunt of Tim’s weight. “You gotta lay off the pizza.” Tim mumbled something in response and a little bit of drool dripped onto Gally’s shoulder. Gally groaned in protest, “here Newt, you take him. He’s your boyfriend.” </span>
  <em>
    <span>That’s a new development,</span>
  </em>
  <span> Dick mused as he shakily stood back up.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Where are you taking him?” Dick demanded, putting full Nightwing into his voice. Newt whipped around with narrowed eyes.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“What’d Tommy call you? Nightwing?” Dick nodding in response,</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I’m his brother,” Dick winced, “I need to take him home.” Newt growled,</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“ </span>
  <em>
    <span>I’m</span>
  </em>
  <span> going to be very, </span>
  <em>
    <span>very clear</span>
  </em>
  <span>. Understand?” Dick nodded, suddenly more afraid of Newt than he probably should be. “Tommy is our leader, and our family. Based on his reaction I’ll assume you two didn’t exactly have the best relationship. So I’m going to take </span>
  <em>
    <span>my</span>
  </em>
  <span> Tommy back to our home.” Dick protested,</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“But you aren’t medically equipped to deal with his well, current problems!” Newt growled again,</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Let me </span>
  <em>
    <span>finish</span>
  </em>
  <span>,” he hissed. Dick nodded, and ignored the bit of piss dripping down his leg. He’d have to dry clean his uniform before Jason teases him for getting so scared by a teenager. Continuing Newt said, “what happened to him is what happens when we get new memories back. When the gladers assess the situation we will contact </span>
  <em>
    <span>you</span>
  </em>
  <span>. Until then, take your peeping Tomness elsewhere. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Clear</span>
  </em>
  <span>?” Dick nodded again and managed to squeak out a resounding,</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Crystal.” Newt seemed satisfied with his response and left him in the alley alone to help Gally carry Tim back into the apartment building. Someone landed on the ground and Dick rolled his eyes.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oracle didn’t have to send you Hood. I’m fine,” Dick said turning to face Jason. The younger vigilante stood leaning against the brick wall with his arms crossed. Jason scoffed,</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Right, that looked like it was handled.” Pushing off the wall Jason walked forward and helped Dick steady his weight. “Did you really call a Code RR?” He asked as he helped Dick into a taxi. Dick nodded,</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yeah. Call everyone in, we’re going to need to come up with a plan.” Jason nodded then slammed the taxi door after relaying the address of one of Dick’s many safe houses.</span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Chapter 2</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <em>
    <span>“He’s alive Dick, alive!” Tim yelled, turning his back to the tall windows of the Bruce’s office in the manor. First Dick takes away Robin from him, and now this? Tim shouldn’t have to try so </span>
  </em>
  <span>hard</span>
  <em>
    <span> to get Dick’s trust. He proved himself when he was Robin, even if Damian </span>
  </em>
  <span>did</span>
  <em>
    <span> cut his line. Dick just sighed and rubbed his eyes.</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Tim, we’re all exhausted. Just go home okay?” Dick asked, Tim didn’t notice the sudden anger that seeped into his brother’s eyes. Tim shook his head and shoved his evidence under Dick’s nose.</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“We can’t give up on him Dick, he wouldn’t give up on us!” Dick narrowed his eyes,</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“You’re insane. I should see if there’s an opening in Arkham.” Tim’s jaw dropped in shock,</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“What?” He asked, hoping he heard wrong. Dick took his case file and fed it through the office’s shredder. Tim started backing up, holding his hands in a failed attempt to calm Dick. The older man advanced,</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“You heard me.” Dick growled as he backed Tim against the window. “I should put you in Arkham.” Tim tried to protest, but a sudden force pushed him through the window. The glass shattered around him as he free-falled towards the ground. Tim twisted in the air and rolled onto the grass.</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>-----</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Thomas woke with a headache threatening to split his head apart. He groaned then leaned back against the pile of pillows someone propped up under him. Newt was curled up next to him, snoring obnoxiously into his ear. Thomas rolled his eyes, then attempted to push Newt over so they were facing away from each other. He managed to push the blond halfway over before Newt just flopped on top of him. Not wanting to wake his boyfriend up, Thomas reached onto the bedside table for his phone. He tried to blink the morning crust out of the eyes as the time glared at him telling him it was currently </span>
  <em>
    <span>4:30AM</span>
  </em>
  <span>. He glanced down at Newt, who now had Thomas wrapped up in a full-body hug. With a sigh Thomas turned off his phone and tried to go back to sleep. Unfortunately his brain decided that </span>
  <em>
    <span>now</span>
  </em>
  <span> was the perfect time to think about the events that happened last night. “Go back to sleep,” Newt muttered into his chest. Thomas chuckled as he pried himself out from Newt’s death grip. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Pun unintended,</span>
  </em>
  <span> Thomas thought with a small smile.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I’m going for a run,” Thomas whispered, sliding a pillow between Newt’s arms. Newt immediately wrapped his limbs around the pillow and buried his face in it.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Smells like you,” Newt said sleepily. Leaning forward Thomas pressed a kiss against Newt’s forehead and took a second to bury his head into the nook of Newt’s neck. Newt hummed happily as his eyes slid shut and his breathing grew quieter as he fell back to sleep. Thomas ran a hand through Newt’s hair with a grin.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I’ll be back,” Thomas promised in a quiet whisper. He pulled on a pair of sweatpants over his boxers and grabbed his sweatshirt from the hook near their apartment door. The apartment was small and homey, as were the rest in their building. After checking to make sure he had his wallet, phone, keys and three kitchen knives (despite what Gally claimed he wasn’t stupid enough to run Gotham’s streets alone), he closed his apartment door shut and locked it behind him with a click.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Once outside Thomas inhaled the disgusting smell of Gotham’s city air. With his knives concealed, two strapped two each shin and the other tucked in his pants at his back. Hints of his memories started to flash through his mind.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Damian cutting his wire.</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Dick kicking him out of the window.</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Ra’s Al Guhl promising him support and a base to work out of.</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Shaking his thoughts out of his mind Thomas took off in a slow jog as the rest of the city woke up around him. Ever since the maze, since they returned to the ‘real world’ he was itching to just break out and run somewhere. His feet hit the pavement in a familiar pattern as he left any thoughts of the trials and the Waynes in his wake. About a mile into his run Thomas decided to take a rest at a coffee shop. He read the menu, then read it again. The whole damn thing seemed like it was written in a forigen language. Were the drink names even in english? Suddenly a girl behind him said, “hot black for him. Cookie blast for me.” Thomas turned around and saw a girl with black hair. Despite his protests she paid for his coffee and gestured to one of the many empty tables. Thomas hesitated, but ultimately decided to sit with her as they drank their caffeinated drinks. “So,” Thomas said after they sat in a few minutes of awkward silence. She sipped at her coffee, which looked like it was mostly made out of pure sugar. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Remember me?” She asked, eyeing Thomas carefully. Before he answered she nodded at his coffee, “your favorite, good hot.” Thomas hesitated before slowly shaking his head in response. He took a sip of his coffee then spit it out in disgust,</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Ugh, that’s </span>
  <em>
    <span>horrible,</span>
  </em>
  <span>” he complained. It tasted like what he'd imagined Dirt soup would taste like. “Who are you trying to torture?” The girl’s eyes lit up as she smiled,</span>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“No torture. Bruce says only bad guys. I’m Cass,” she said reaching out her hand. Returning her and shake Thomas frowned,</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Bruce?” He asked, the name was recurring in his earlier memories. Cass nodded,</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Bruce is dad, you are brother. Like Dick.” Thomas frowned deeper,</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I don’t think I’m your brother anymore Cass…” he trailed off as she shook her head. To his surprise she started moving her hands around quickly. To surprise him even more, he </span>
  <em>
    <span>understood</span>
  </em>
  <span> what she was trying to say. Since she was communicating in ASL, he resigned to do the same.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Cass, no. I’m not Tim. </span>
  </em>
  <span>Thomas signed, muscle memory kicking in. He watched her eyes light up with hope. She shook her head angrily.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>You are my brother, Thomas or Tim it doesn’t matter. You keep your knives in the same spots.</span>
  </em>
  <span> Cass signed in response, pulling out her own knife. Thomas sighed,</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I should probably stop trying to change your mind about this huh?” He asked, he knew a losing battle when he saw one. Cassandra nodded and crossed her arms. Turns out he got his stubbornness from her, who knew? Softening his eyes Thomas stood up and walked around the table to give Cass a hug.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Brother,” she insisted, poking Thomas’s stomach. “Stubborn, but brother.” After a few seconds she asked, “seen Dick?” Thomas hesitated,</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I don’t really remember much Cass. I know he kicked me out of the window, and I know Ra’s stole my spleen but -” Cass cut him off with a very, </span>
  <em>
    <span>very</span>
  </em>
  <span> scary looking glare.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Stole your spleen?" Suddenly too angry to speak she began to sign, </span>
  <em>
    <span>Ra’s hurt my little brother. He will be punished</span>
  </em>
  <span>, she promised. Thomas’s eyes widened as he tried to backtrack,</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Hold on Cass. I’m fine right? I don’t need a spleen to survive. Besides, I blew up the bastard when I blew up the rest of WICKED.” His phone went off and when he checked it he could see it was Newt, so he answered the call.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Thomas where the shuck are you?” </span>
  </em>
  <span>Newt demanded the second the call connected. Thomas frowned,</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“At a coffee shop with my sister.” Newt made a confused puppy dog sort-of-sound,</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>I'm sorry, your </span>
  </em>
  <span>what</span>
  <em>
    <span>?</span>
  </em>
  <span>” He asked in disbelief. Thomas rolled his eyes,</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“My sister. I guess I had a big family.” Cass nodded with a smile on her face. “Scratch that, a huge family.” With a frown he asked, “why did you call me?” Thomas didn’t have to be in the room with him to see Newt roll his eyes.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“You dumb shuck I was terrified. You’re usually back from your runs by six. I thought WICKED took you again, Tommy I -” </span>
  </em>
  <span>Newt cut himself off with a choked sob and Thomas was overcome by a wave of guilt. He borrowed Cass’s phone to check the time, which read back as </span>
  <em>
    <span>7:00AM</span>
  </em>
  <span>.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I’m so sorry Newt,” Thomas apologized, ignoring Cass’s concerned look. “I didn’t want you to worry.” He ran a hand through his hair, “I just had to get out you know? Newt I had to </span>
  <em>
    <span>run.</span>
  </em>
  <span>” Newt responded with a tried sigh.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“I love you Tommy,”</span>
  </em>
  <span> Newt said. Thomas was sure he was smiling like an idiot,</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I love you too Newt, I’ll be back soon alright? I didn’t realize how much time had passed.” Cass checked her watch,</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Bruce will be home. Come with?” She asked, hope glistening in her eyes. Thomas hung up with Newt and hesitated. Answering slowly he said,</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Not today Cass.” She frowned,</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Soon.” Cass said leaving no room for a debate, “come home soon.” Thomas nodded,</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Soon, I promise.” Her eyes lit back up as she drained the rest of her coffee. She pointed at Thomas’s cup and he shrugged in response, “go ahead,” he offered. She impressively chugged the cup of now-cold coffee in one go. Thomas raised an eyebrow,</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You’ll give Gally a run for his money.” Cass grinned then she asked,</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Who is Gally?” Thomas grinned,</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“One of my friends! I’m sure they’d love you Cass, you’d fit right in. I just have to… remember more… before I can meet anyone else. Everything is moving too fast.” Cass nodded in understanding. Distracted, Thomas looked at the cafe’s door when the bell rang. He turned back to face Cass but she mysteriously disappeared from the table. Frowning he looked around the seating area and didn’t see her anywhere. Assuming she left the building Thomas got up and took the almost-familiar route back to the apartment building. Instead of returning to the glader’s apartment though, he found himself in front of a building he didn’t exactly recognize. He stood on the street, looking up at the building wondering what about it felt so similar. Thomas walked up to the door and tried to open it, but it was locked. Some sort of high tech keypad slid out from the mailslot, waiting for him to scan his retinas to unlock it.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Positive identity identified. Welcome home, Timothy Drake - Wayne.”</span>
  </em>
  <span> A robotic voice said as the door swung open on it’s own. Thomas backed away from the door instead of walking into the apartment. </span>
  <em>
    <span>It’s too soon,</span>
  </em>
  <span> Thomas thought as he struggled to get away from the building. He tried to push the flood of memories back down the hole they were coming from. Thomas fumbled for his phone as he tripped down the steps back towards the street. His chest seized as the air got knocked out of him. Thomas could feel his throat knot up as he struggled to control his breathing. He tore off his shirt and discarded it on the ground beside him.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Taking off his shirt didn’t help.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Reaching for his throat he fell backwards as he leaned against the bottom step. Thomas heard Newt’s faint voice float through the phone speaker on the ground next to him. “Red calm down,” someone said next to him. Thomas pulled his head between his knees, couldn’t this dude see he was </span>
  <em>
    <span>trying</span>
  </em>
  <span> to breathe? Thomas gasped like a fish out of water as his breathing quickly blended into a mix of hyperventilation and struggled gasps of water. He reached forward and grabbed a fist full of leather jacket.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I can’t </span>
  <em>
    <span>breathe</span>
  </em>
  <span>,” Thomas wheezed, grabbing at the other man. Other man dude wasn’t having it though.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Listen to me Tim - “ Thomas cut him off,</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Not Tim, Thomas.” The man nodded,</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Alright listen to me Thomas. You need to open your eyes, can you do that?” Despite shaking his head, Thomas found himself heeding to his request. He pried his eyes open and was met with a startlingly green pair. The man had a streak of white hair that cut through the middle of his head and a name flashed through Thomas’s mind. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Jason</span>
  </em>
  <span>. Instead of relaxing Thomas just tensed up even more. “Hey, none of that baby bird,” Jason said, trying to get Thomas to relax. Thomas shook his head,</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You tried to kill me. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Trying</span>
  </em>
  <span> to kill me.” Jason muttered an impressive strand of cuss words under his breath. Shaking his head Jason started to breath slow even breaths, an easy pattern for Thomas to copy on his own.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Fuck Thomas I’m so </span>
  <em>
    <span>sorry</span>
  </em>
  <span>,” Jason apologized before saying, “but you need to breathe.” Thomas struggled to match the pattern Jason set, but managed to slow his hyperventilation. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Newt,” Thomas choked out, “need Newt.” Jason must have picked up Thomas’s discarded phone because soon Thomas could hear Newt’s worried voice speaking very quickly through the speaker. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I’ve got Thomas, he’s alright… well, he’s alive. Are you Newt?” Jason paused then said, “thank god. Alright, I’ll text you the address we’re at.” He paused again then explained, “he’s having a panic attack.” Newt shouted something Thomas couldn’t quite make out.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Jason I -” Thomas cut himself off with a strand of harsh coughs. Jason didn’t stop trying to help Thomas slow his breathing though.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>After what seemed like ages Newt’s voice suddenly filled Thomas’s ears. “Hey Tommy, you hear me?” Newt asked as he took over for Jason, who stood nearby ready to help again if needed. Thomas breathed a sigh of relief and nodded,</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yeah. Thought you were dead. Dead again,” he corrected. Newt chuckled then pressed a chaste kiss against Thomas’s lips.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You aren’t getting rid of me that easy Greenie,” Newt said running a hand through Thomas’s hair. As Thomas’s breathing returned to normal Newt turned to Jason. “How did you find him?” Jason shrugged then pointed at the now-closed apartment door.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“He tripped the security system. I was the closest so I figured I’d check it out.” Newt turned back to Thomas, who greedily wrapped him up in a hug. Gally rolled his eyes,</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“If you two are going to just be gross I’ll head back to Paradise 2.0,” Jason frowned,</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“There was a Paradise 1.0?” He asked, obviously curious. Thomas nodded as Newt helped him stand up.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, turns out evil government conspiracies are evil though.” He hesitated then Thomas said, “look, I know everyone wants to meet but I just…” he glanced at Newt, who nodded in support. “I just need to think about things.” Jason nodded,</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I get it man. After showing up from being missing for four months you’re probably overwhelmed.” Thomas frowned,</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You mean it wasn’t four years?” Jason swore under his breath,</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I swear the next time I see Ra’s I’m going to shoot that fucker dead.” Newt grinned,</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“We’d gladly help you with that if the bastard wasn’t already burning in hell.” Jason frowned,</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“What are you talking about?” He asked, confusion laced in his voice. A slight frown curved at Gally’s mouth,</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“What are </span>
  <em>
    <span>you</span>
  </em>
  <span> talking about?” Gally retorted, “we sent that dickhead straight to hell when we blew up WICKED’s headquarters.” Jason grimley shook his head then said,</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“We just got security footage of  him leaving California. Ra’s is still alive.”</span>
</p>
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